Abstract

ince excess salt in the growing medium can be considered as one of the adverse factors for plants,plant resistance to salinity acquires the additional interest. Increased drought can affect the developmentof the plant at any stage of ontogenesis, and soil salinity affects the plant from the very beginning of itslife. Therefore, the ability of the plant to survive and develop at an early stage in conditions of elevatedsalt concentrations is one of the most important biological features, and the growth reaction of sproutsto stressful conditions is one of the visual indicators of their metabolism changes. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study the influence of salt stress on the growth reactions of chickpea sprouts. Chickpeas(Cicer arietinum L.) is an important agricultural and drought-resistant leguminous crop, which is able toproduce good yields in harsh conditions, but this crop is very sensitive to salinity. The effect of NaClsolution in concentrations of 0.6 and 1.26% on 10 - day chickpea sprouts was studied. Growth, biomass accumulation, anatomical features of shoots and roots of chickpea sprouts under experimental andcontrol conditions were evaluated. It was experimentally revealed that salt stress had a negative impacton the growth and biomass accumulation both above-ground part of seedlings and root. Under the influence of salt stress significantly decreased water content in plant bodies. A number of negative changesin the anatomical structure of the stem and root of young plants were revealed. Negative changes wereintensified with the increase in the degree and time of stress.Key words: chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), salinity, growth reactions, chickpea sprouts, anatomicalparameters.